Newborn babies constantly receive all kinds of useful substances, micro and macro elements along with mother's milk. Every month, babies need even more nutrients, and the most suitable way to provide him with good nutrition and development is stewed fruit for babies from prunes.
Prune Composition
Prune itself has a considerable amount of pectin and various ballast substances. All of them give a mild laxative effect, so prune compote for infants from constipation is ideal. This food product also contains magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, saturated fatty acids and vitamins B and E, which have antioxidant properties.
How to choose the right product
Before you cook compote from prunes for babies, you must definitely choose the main ingredient, so as not to harm the baby.
As you know, prunes are made from Hungarian (plum variety). The times when dried fruits were made in a natural way, hanging in the shade, have long passed. Today, people are accelerating this process by plunging plums into a container of acoustic soda. After that, cracks form on the peel, due to which the prunes dries much faster. And to protect the product from pests, it is treated with sulfur dioxide.
Chemically processed foods look better than those dried in the traditional way. Therefore, when choosing prunes, you should look for black matte fruits with a stone. The glitter of plums, which buyers love so much, is achieved with glycerin or fat of unknown origin, and this will not be useful for babies. If prunes have a smoked taste, then this means that it was treated with liquid smoke.
Choose products for babies should be carefully. On the packaging is really worthy of prunes that do not harm the health of the child, it must be indicated that it is dried in the traditional way and no chemicals were used in its processing.
Beverages
Depending on the method of preparation, prune drinks are divided into categories:
- Decoction. The easiest way to make a drink for babies. The broth is cooked over low heat: for about 10 minutes, dried fruits should be cooked in boiling water. Just for one glass of water you need to take 3 fruits of each dried fruit, which must first be kept in cold water for about 15 minutes. Before serving the baby, the drink should be cooled to the required temperature.
- Infusion. A drink with an unsaturated taste contains a lot of useful substances. As in the previous version, the fruits must be cooled in cold water, and then pour boiling water and wrap the container well. A drink in this state will cool down for about 6 hours, after which it can immediately be given to a baby.
- Stewed fruit for babies from prunes. This drink is the most common, because it contains the maximum amount of useful elements. But you should be careful with it, since this option can cause an allergic reaction in a child due to the high sugar content. The most interesting recipe is a compote of prunes and dried apricots for babies: a couple of glasses of water, a tablespoon of sugar and five fruits of the main ingredients are mixed in a container, and then sent to the fire. Boil the drink on low heat for about 15 minutes. This recipe is undoubtedly liked by all parents and children, but there are other options besides it. You can familiarize yourself with them, as well as the useful properties of compote below.
Compote benefits
Among the most important advantages of the drink:
- It improves brain activity, therefore it is recommended to use it not only for children, but also for adults.
- Increases immunity, which is especially important in the winter season.
- Normalizes metabolism.
- Regulates the intestinal microflora.
- It has a laxative effect.
- Improves appetite.
Contraindications
Compote for babies from prunes is undesirable to use in the presence of diabetes mellitus, problems with diarrhea, gastritis, peptic ulcer diseases, as well as individual intolerance to the ingredients. From a small amount of drunk compote, there will be no noticeable deterioration, but still it is not recommended to take risks. If you really want to, then you should visit the doctor to clarify whether this drink can be consumed and in what quantity.
How old is compote to drink?
Prunes are allowed to give babies from about 4 months. First, it should be drinks without added sugar, and already compote from prunes - for babies 6 months. If the baby is on artificial feeding, then drinks from dried fruits can be drunk from 3 months to improve the intestines.
Introduction to Diet
Compote for babies from prunes should begin to be given in minimal portions: from one teaspoon and up to 100-150 ml per day. A baby can perceive new foods differently, so his reaction must be carefully monitored. Dried berries and fruits are not even to the taste of some adults, but they can consume them by force, if necessary for treatment, and the baby will not do this.
Doctors recommend giving babies a one-component prune compote for infants, the recipe for which is provided below. In this way, you can easily identify allergic reactions to the ingredients and individual intolerance of the child. You can enhance the laxative effect with dried apricots or figs, but these components should also be administered gradually and in small portions.
In that case, if the child does not want to drink a drink at all, then it is not worth compelling him. Perhaps he is not yet ready for the use of components unknown to him, from which an incomprehensible smell emanates. Over time, he will still fall in love with compote and he will become his favorite treat. The dried plum contains sourness, which is noticeable immediately, but it can be easily eliminated by disguising with honey, syrup or some other dried fruits.
Compote for constipation
Young parents are used to buying a variety of juices and cereals for their babies, but more experienced mothers know for sure that dried fruit compotes will be the best for children. With dried fruits, of course, there will be a bit more worries than with fresh ones, since they will need to be cooked for about half an hour, but still the effect of such drinks will exceed all expectations.
To prepare the simplest compote for the baby, you only need to take prunes and thoroughly clean it of dust and dirt: the fruit should be poured with chilled water, held for about 15 minutes and drained. Thanks to this procedure, litter will go down to the bottom of the container and the product can be safely used without fear for the baby’s health. Once the ingredients are ready, they must be immersed in a pot of boiling water and cook for about 25-30 minutes. Then you need to drain the liquid into a separate clean container and from there give the compote to the baby.
A good option is a compote of apples and prunes for infants 8-9 months, which is prepared using a thermos. The main ingredients are apples and prunes. They are cleaned as described above: in cold water. In a thermos, you need to put all the fruits, pour exactly a glass of boiling water and leave it for a day. Then you need to pour the contents of the thermos into a separate container, add another glass of boiling water there and boil for 10 minutes.
From five months old, a compote of prunes and dried apricots / raisins can be given to a baby. The first ingredient must be cleaned and boiled for 20 minutes, and the rest do not need to be boiled, because it is enough to simply pour boiling water over them. Infusion of dried apricots or raisins should be left literally for 5-10 minutes, and then combine it with cooked prunes and insist until the morning.
A universal recipe suitable for children, adolescents and adults is a compote of cherries, prunes and black currants. At first glance, this combination may seem strange, but in the end, such a drink will be to everyone's taste. For cooking, you need to rid the berries of the cuttings and rinse thoroughly. Prunes should be cooked for about 25 minutes, and at this time cherries and currants should be poured with hot syrup and allowed to soak for about 10 minutes. This mass will need to be put in a jar along with a decoction of prunes and again add the syrup, but already cold. About 20 minutes, the drink should be infused, after which both adults and children can safely drink it.
Portions
Children who have weak immunity and other health problems are allowed to give about 5 ml of compote for up to a year. The following rules will help cure the baby:
- compote should be given in the morning (up to 13 hours), not during breastfeeding, but between them;
- for the first time it is necessary to give the baby no more than half a teaspoon of the drink, and then gradually increase the dose to several tablespoons.
To get the desired effect, you should adhere to the optimal dose. Each parent should know how to cook compote from prunes to babies correctly, so as not to harm his health, but only to get rid of unnecessary problems. No need to force a child to drink a drink if he does not want it. It is possible that, for example, at 8-9 in the morning he will refuse a sweet compote, and in just a couple of hours he will be glad to such a treat.